Sam D’Souza, a middleman allegedly named as the broker who made a deal between witness Kiran Gosavi and actor Shah Rukh Khan‘s manager in the cruise ship drug bust case, has claimed that Gosavi was paid Rs 50 lakh, but he (D’Souza) made him return the money, Indian Express reported.
According to the report, D’Souza spoke to a TV channel, ABP Majha, on Monday, and said that Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede had no role in the alleged deal, and Gosavi had only pretended to be in touch with him. D’Souza further claimed he made Gosavi return the money after realising that he was a “cheater”.
Recently, Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness in the case claiming to be the personal bodyguard of Gosavi, who was seen in the viral selfie with Aryan Khan at the NCB office, alleged that Gosavi had discussed monetary pay-offs to Wankhede in a telephone conversation. Sail said he overheard a conversation about a Rs 18 crore deal between Gosavi and D’Souza on October 3, of which Rs 8 crore was allegedly to be paid to Wankhede.
Wankhede had denied all the allegations made against him in the affidavit and NCB Deputy Director-General informed through a press release that the document has been forwarded to the NCB Director General for “further necessary action”.
“Our zonal director, Mumbai Zonal Unit, Mr. Sameer Wankhede has categorically denied these allegations. As some of the contents of the affidavit relate to vigilance matters, I am hereby by forwarding the affidavit to Director General Narcotics Control Bureau and requesting him for further necessary action,” the release stated.
Recommended
Meanwhile, the Pune police on Saturday had lodged another FIR against Gosavi for allegedly duping a man by promising him a job in Malaysia. On October 28, the Pune Police arrested Gosavi in connection with a cheating case filed in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. Gosavi was nabbed on the grounds that someone had lodged an FIR against him at the Faraskhana police station in 2018 for allegedly committing fraud by promising the person a job in Malaysia and taking money for the same.
Earlier this month, Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik had alleged that Gosavi and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manish Bhanushali took part in the Narcotics Control Bureau’s raid on the cruise ship during which Aryan Khan was arrested. Malik had further questioned whether the agency had the authority to allow private citizens to take part in such raids. However, the agency clarified that Gosavi and Bhanushali were both independent witnesses in the case.